In the attic of Jade's childhood was an old trunk, locked. And even though she couldn't pry it open, nor did she have the key, the muffled sobs coming from inside told her more than she wanted to remember.
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I stirred, slowly gaining conscious. My eyes peeled open on their own accord and I lifted up my fists to rub away the sleep. I was momentarily disoriented, confused as to why I couldn't feel the wall on my right side, or why this bed felt huge and the pillow smelt like aftershave. It took me a full minute until I remembered again, I was in Jordan's room.
Lying on my stomach, I turned my head to face the window. A single ray of sunlight peeked out from the crack between the curtains. I stretched one arm hanging off the side of the bed, trying to reach the sunbeam with my hand. I played with it, letting it dance across my fingers, enjoying the warmth.
There was a pounding buzz behind my eyes and I knew it could only mean a headache was ready to start in a second. I sighed and rolled over onto my back. The soft sheets brushed my bare legs, sending painful prickles up and down my thighs where the scratches still stung. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth when I wanted to lick my chapped lips. I tried to swallow but my throat felt too sore from crying and screaming all night.
I didn't know what time it was. I didn't know if school had already started or not. I didn't know if my brothers planned to keep me home today. I didn't know if Ashton and Jordan had gone to work or if Noah went to school. I didn't know anything but thinking only made my head hurt so I decided to think about nothing.
Instead I focused on the popcorn ceiling, counting the few cracks in the white paint when I suddenly heard something. The muffled voices were coming from downstairs, I could make out Jordan's low baritone and another deep voice I didn't recognize.
I don't know how long I kept staring at the ceiling when I quite abruptly decided to drag myself out of bed. I winced when the scratches pulled at my skin causing some of them to reopen again. I caught tissues on the bedside table and used them to dab at the blood drops. I suddenly envisioned someone else's hand wiping at my legs and I froze. I threw away the bloody tissues and pushed the memory away into a box at the far back of my mind where no one, not even myself, could find it again.
The carpet drowned out the sound of my footsteps as I made my way to my room where I changed my shorts into leggings. I was quiet as I slowly went down the stairs, step by step. The voices were coming from the living room and got more distinctive when I suddenly halted.
"What about the suspects?" I heard Jordan question.
"We arrested the Dillon cousins last night, they're being interrogated this afternoon. Hopefully they'll give us some names," Marcus answered.
"What about the other one - Mooney, Kyle Mooney."
"He's clean, no criminal record, low-profile, our ordinary law abiding citizen."
"Yeah, they're the ones we should keep an eye on, Marcus," Jordan gritted out. "Did you check his computer?"
"Yeah we confiscated pretty much everything we could get our hands on, so far we got nothing. We couldn't keep him in custody so we had to release him this morning, the law states he's innocent until proven guilty."
